Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO or Shanghai Pact), formerly known as the Shanghai Five (the name changed in 2001 as a result of Uzbekistan joining and its membership count growing beyond five) is an international political alliance and mutual security organization consisting of the People's Republic of China, Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikstan and, most recently, Uzbekistan.
The organization started in April 26, 1996 as a result of the signing of the Treaty on Deepening Military Trust in Border Regions by the heads of state of the People's Republic of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikstan. Subsequent meetings were held in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikstan until 2001, when the group returned to Shanghai and admitted Uzbekistan as a new member. On June 15, 2001, all six heads of its member states signed the Declaration of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, praising its role thus far and seeking to tighten cooperation between its members.
In June 2002, the membership tour came full circle in St. Petersburg, with the signing of the SCO charter, which expounded on the organizations purposes, principles, structures and form of operation, and made its status in international law clear.
The SCO has been surprisingly underused as a source of plots by Speculative Fiction, though references to the Sino-Russian alliances are sometimes made, independent of reference to any Central Asian country. However, groups like an "Asian Commonwealth" (which, for some reason, seems largely to consist of East Asia) have popped up in fiction, and bear similarities to the SCO.
Perhaps inspired by this, The BBC once referred to the SCO as "the most important international organisation you've never heard of".
Anime and Manga
- The Human Reform League in Mobile Suit Gundam 00 could be seen as having evolved from the SCO, considering how China and Russia are the leading players there.
Video Games
- The SCO, along with NATO and an Islamic Alliance, is one of the three alliances in Modern Day Scenario II, replacing the Axis.
- Judging by the makeup of the OPFOR in Project Reality, it is possible that it includes SCO nations, though there has been hot dispute over Russia's status in the game's storyline.
- The SCO is slated to show up in Black Ops 2 as part of a future Cold War between China and the US.